Capitalism and the Senses (Hagley Perspectives on Business and Culture)

Capitalism and the Senses is the first edited volume to explore how the forces of capitalism are entangled with everyday sensory experience. If the senses have a history, as Karl Marx wrote, then that history is inseparable from the development of capitalism, which has both taken advantage of the senses and influenced how sensory experience has changed over time. This pioneering collection shows how seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching have both shaped and been shaped by commercial interests from the turn of the twentieth century to our own time. From the manipulation of taste and texture in the food industry to the careful engineering of the feel of artificial fabrics, capitalist enterprises have worked to commodify the senses in a wide variety of ways. Drawing on history, anthropology, geography, and other fields, the volume’s essays analyze not only where this effort has succeeded but also where the senses have resisted control and the logic of markets. The result is an innovative ensemble that demonstrates how the drive to exploit sensorial experience for profit became a defining feature of capitalist modernity and establishes the senses as an important dimension of the history of capitalism. Contributors: Nicholas Anderman, Regina Lee Blaszczyk, Jessica P. Clark, Ai Hisano, Lisa Jacobson, Sven Kube, Grace Lees-Maffei, Ingemar Pettersson, David Suisman, Ana María Ulloa, Nicole Welk-Joerger.

Capitalism and the Senses is the first edited volume toexplore how the forces of capitalism are entangled with everydaysensory experience. If the senses have a history, as Karl Marxwrote, then that history is inseparable from the development ofcapitalism, which has both taken advantage of the senses andinfluenced how sensory experience has changed over time. Thispioneering collection shows how seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling,and touching have both shaped and been shaped by commercialinterests from the turn of the twentieth century to our own time.From the manipulation of taste and texture in the food industry tothe careful engineering of the feel of artificial fabrics,capitalist enterprises have worked to commodify the senses in awide variety of ways. Drawing on history, anthropology, geography,and other fields, the volume's essays analyze not only where thiseffort has succeeded but also where the senses have resistedcontrol and the logic of markets. The result is an innovativeensemble that demonstrates how the drive to exploit sensorialexperience for profit became a defining feature of capitalistmodernity and establishes the senses as an important dimension ofthe history of capitalism. Contributors: NicholasAnderman, Regina Lee Blaszczyk, Jessica P. Clark, Ai Hisano, LisaJacobson, Sven Kube, Grace Lees-Maffei, Ingemar Pettersson, DavidSuisman, Ana María Ulloa, Nicole Welk-Joerger.

"Capitalism and the Senses is the first edited volume to explore how the forces of capitalism are entangled with everyday sensory experience. This pioneering collection shows how seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching have both shaped and been shaped by commercial interests from the turn of the twentieth century to our own time. From the manipulation of taste and texture in the food industry to the careful engineering of the feel of artificial fabrics in the clothing business, capitalist enterprises have worked to commodify the senses in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes they have succeeded, other times the senses have resisted control and defied the logic of markets. Drawing on history, anthropology, geography, and other fields, these essays comprise an innovative ensemble that demonstrates how the drive to exploit sensorial experience for profit became a defining feature of capitalist modernity and establishes the senses as an important dimension of the history of capitalism"-- Provided by publisher